Leafs Far From Guaranteed Top Draft Pick

Leafs Hope For Top Draft Lottery Pick

The Toronto Maple Leafs are hoping a last-place finish, will turn into the first pick in the 2016 NHL entry draft.

The organization will find out, Saturday night.

But Leafs fans shouldn’t count their chickens just yet – and here’s why.

Thanks to rule changes to the lottery this year, the Leafs could find themselves drafting as low as fourth overall. That’s because starting this year, the Draft Lottery will assign the top three slots in the first round of the Draft, as opposed to exclusively determining the winner of the first overall selection.

Fittingly, it is the Leafs who will be the first team to finish with the fewest amount of regular season points and could potentially fall victim. If they lose out on the top spot, these new rules mean the club is not guaranteed to pick second like in years past.